Makutu Manneh
Gambia Minister of Health Amadou Samateh on Sunday said Gambia is yet to register a case of coronavirus.
“The Gambia is yet to register a case of confirmed coronavirus infection,” Health Minister Samateh said.
Samateh Minister said of the total suspected patients, 8 of them required laboratory test but that all came out negative.
The Minister said the likelihood of the Gambia being affected is high due to the country’s closeness to Senegal where several cases were confirmed.
Three hundred and fifty people suspected of contracting coronavirus are under home isolation in The Gambia, according to the Health Minister Dr. Amadou Samateh.
This he said, includes 149 of who completed the follow-up without symptoms and 206 are still under surveillance with no symptoms.
Dr. Samateh said his ministry is constantly informed about the arrival of visitors from the affected areas which enables them to strengthen surveillance at the country’s point of entries.
Some of the observations the minister talked about in the entry points are screening and early detection of the disease.
The ministry also said that the nature and scale of the response depend on the course of the disease and that they cannot predict that accurately at the moment.
The department of Health and Social Welfare said the role of the public in supporting the country’s response to the disease is to reduce the impact and spread of misinformation by relying on information from trusted sources.
They also recommended using free toll number 1025 for clarifications and also following the prescribed measures such as regular hand washing and manners of coughing.
He said his ministry also organized the training of various officers including Public Health, Clinical Health Care, Immigration, Food Safety and Quality Authorities, Phytosanitary, Fire and Rescue Services and Gambia Revenue Authority on infection prevention, control and proper use of personal protective equipment.
The outbreak of the disease started in China in December 2019 and since then 169,212 cases are confirmed around the world causing 6499 deaths and 76618 recovered from the virus. 86, 095 people are infected globally as of 15th March 2020.
